We all had favourite books as children. Mine was Winnie-the-Pooh, which my grandmother used to read to me. And when it came to reading to my own kids, it was Good Dog, Carl, which had no words so I could make up my own story. They were both happy books, but many classic children’s tales have a darker tone.

Today in The Conversation Canada, Michelle Superle of the University of The Fraser Valley writes about the history of children’s books – and for centuries, books intended for young audiences “reinforced messages that children are unimportant, incompetent and powerless.”

Those books were “childist” – which Pro. Superle defines as “prejudice against children… . This prejudice, resting on the assumption that adults and their needs are unquestionably superior to children and their needs, is widespread and damaging. It’s the root of all forms of child abuse.”

In our Science and Technology section, John Nychka of the University of Alberta has a fascinating piece about “biomimicry” – when new technologies emulate things from the natural world. There are some great videos and illustrations with this article.

And finally, Lucia O'Sullivan of the University of New Brunswick reports on teenage breakups. Too often parents treat them as a trivial, but Prof. O’Sullivan notes they are the leading cause of distress and suicide in young people.

Also, if you’re reading this first thing in the morning, you’ll likely be getting ready to watch the partial eclipse of the sun that will pass across Canada today. We’ve left several eclipse-related stories on our front page for easy reference – and remember, don’t look at the sun!!!

Regards,